By the time you pick up this newspaper Thursday, the National Weather Service predicts several inches of snow to already be on the ground, with several more to fall throughout the day, leaving us covered in 10 to 15 inches of the fluffy stuff.

What a snow emergency means

Most municipalities declared snow emergencies days before the snow actually hit the ground. It means different things in different municipalities but the greatest common factor is: get your car off the street. In York, residents can park for free in city parking garages. In other areas, such as West York, there are public parking lots at Reliance Fire Company at 1341 W. Market St. and the borough parking lot at 1401 W. Philadelphia St. Check with your local municipality to see where your cars should go.

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Don't go hungry

Local stores have been stocking shelves for everything you need from milk to eggs and bread.

"We've been extremely busy the past two days," said Dennis Curtin, spokesman with Weis Markets.

Extra shipments of the basics are brought in before storms, but they also see extra sales of deli items, rotisserie chickens and easy-make items.

The store brings in extra staff who are cross-trained on stocking shelves and working cash registers.

Front-end manager Holly McKinney of Nell's Shurfine in York Township said milk, bread and baking items are big sellers during storms.

They work to stay open throughout the storm, making sure customers can stop in for anything they might need.

One thing they don't have, and have been out of since last week, is rock salt.

Tractor Supply Company on Loucks Road in York has also been out of rock salt for several days, according to a store manager.

Kitty litter is an alternative for helping with traction, but it won't melt the ice like rock salt.

Getting help

The Red Cross has an emergency shelter on standby at Red Lion Area Senior High School should there be a need, according to spokesman Matt Leininger.

This winter has left the organization busy, particularly with house fires related to the cold, Leininger added.

"If you're looking for a silver lining, when we're busy like this it only makes our volunteers better," he said. "We have a great group of volunteers who like to be kept busy and be used."

Keeping your lights on

Scott Surgeoner with Met-Ed said they started having line crews work on staggered 16-hour shifts with eight hours off so they have 24-hour coverage.

Two full-time meteorologists at the company's headquarters in Akron, Ohio, have been keeping crews up to date on areas they expect to be hit the hardest, he said.

The biggest concern is that the ice that stuck to tree branches last week and caused thousands to lose power has yet to melt. Put snow on top of those and you can expect branches to fall on power lines, he said.

"There's nothing we can do about that," Surgeoner said.

By 6 a.m. Thursday, there will be more than 500 electricians working to restore power to those who may have lost it within the region.

"Reporting it is the best way to let us know where the issues are and how we can best attack them," Surgeoner said.

Getting around

Rabbittransit has shut down only once in the 11 years that Richard Farr has served as executive director.

"If the roads close, we close," Farr said.

He expects the public transit service to continue to operate through Thursday's forecasted heavy snowfall, although routes might be shorted to emergency snow routes only.

The snow routes are formally defined on rabbittransit's website.

"We steer our buses away from problem areas," Farr said. "We'd rather have people park their cars and take the bus."

He said that riders can keep tabs on changes to service through text and email alerts.

Staff writer Hannah Sawyer contributed to this report.

Forecast

The National Weather Service is forecasting 10 to 14 inches of snow for York County.

The winter storm warning went into effect at 1 a.m. and will last until 10 p.m. Thursday.